Canterbury ex-police officer dies from injury

Greg Sutherland. Photo / ODT

A former long-serving police officer has died after sustaining a head injury during a hunting trip on Stewart Island.

Greg Sutherland, 51, of Timaru, was flown to Dunedin Hospital following an incident while hunting with friends on November 20.

A Givealittle page set up for the family at the time said he was in the intensive care unit and they were "preparing for the long haul".

But an update on the page posted on Sunday said Sutherland had died in hospital.

"Unfortunately, earlier this week Greg's condition took a turn for the worse.

"At 8.39pm on Saturday 5th December 2020, Greg left this earth, surrounded by his loving family."

Sutherland had been a police officer for nearly 30 years, spending two years in South Auckland before moving to Christchurch, and then, in 1997, to Twizel for six years and Tekapo for five.

He was stationed in Timaru for 12 years, mostly as a frontline sergeant.

In 2018 he left police for a new career as a funeral director at Timaru's Aoraki Funeral Home.

Aoraki area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said Sutherland was well known, well respected, and well liked.

"He touched a lot of lives. He left his mark on everyone."

While it was "incredibly sad" Sutherland had died, he believed the keen outdoorsman would also have hated if his accident had left him "unable to live as he could previously".

The Givealittle page had raised $27,540 for the Sutherland family by yesterday afternoon.